Time to kick the habit?

Hello lovely readers!

Lately I've not had the best run of health which has slowed me down on the blog front. As a result I've started to take a serious look at my lifestyle and make some changes. I've been researching all kinds of foods and drinks - both those that I need to cut out and ones I need to add into my diet to benefit the particular problems I have. For example, did you know cherries are extremely good at reducing inflammation? I've found some really fascinating articles and information, so I thought I'd do a series of blogs to share my findings with you. :)



Today's blog is all about coffee - the staple drink of pretty much the entire population - and why you should switch to a much healthier choice.

Statistics show that we consume 12,000 tonnes of caffeine each year, which is a phenomenal amount of coffee. What a lot of those coffee drinkers probably don't realise is that caffeine was actually developed by plants over time as a poison. Caffeine is the plant worlds own homemade pesticide, designed to kill any insects that try to eat them.
We consume many chemicals from the plant world that are considered to be a poison, such as oxalic acid from leafy greens or capsaicin from chilli peppers, but none on such a grand scale as caffeine. So what effects are we letting ourselves in for?

Caffeine's primary effect is to stun or kill insects, which to a human just creates a little 'buzz'. Most people think that the caffeine has given them energy, but in reality it has just stimulated the nervous system and will wear off. Just like with sugar hits, we keep drinking coffee to sustain our energy not realising we're just letting ourselves in for a crash further down the line. The nervous system is constantly being stimulated and forced to work harder, which ultimately will exhaust your adrenals.

Caffeine is also very addictive. Studies show that even as little as one small cup a day can cause withdrawal symptoms, so you may be addicted without even knowing. Withdrawal symptoms can include headaches, exhaustion, irritability, lethargy, insomnia, constipation, muscle aches, flu-like symptoms and even depression. Do you really want any of those?

Quite possibly the scariest thing about caffeine is what it does to other pesticides. Taken from a study by James Nathanson, assistant professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical school: "a small dose of caffeine increased known pesticides potency by 10 times." Think of all the pesticides that make their way into your body through your diet (unless you only eat organic food of course!) then think of all the caffeine you're adding to them. It doesn't sound good, does it? That's why caffeine is now considered to be a neurotoxin.


That's enough doom and gloom though. Hopefully I've thoroughly convinced you to kick the caffeine habit! Stay tuned for my next blog for alternatives that are yummy and good for you. :)